Mobile Barcode Scanning Provisions Instant Inventory Insights

BEAVERTON, OR: A mobile barcode scanning solution allows you to turn any tablet or mobile phone into a barcode scanning utility. Furthermore, some of these applications can send data to an easily accessed platform – allowing users to work together to maintain the accuracy of their data. Digimarc announced a new app called SPARC, or Supplier Portal Allowing Retail Coverage included in its software bundle, developed by Rockfish which gives suppliers access to backroom inventory via their smartphones.

The application delivers real-time product inventory data directly to Walmart suppliers, providing an overview of what products are on store shelves and in the backroom at any given time. With this insight, CPG(Consumer Packed Goods) suppliers from the "billion dollar club" and small/medium companies alike – and the retail service companies that represent the leading brands and thousands of other suppliers – are better able to make informed decisions about the on-shelf availability (OSA) of products at the store level to meet consumer demand.

Rockfish with the SPARC app, has approximately 48,000 active users. The Digimarc SDK (Software Development Kit) includes several proprietary optimizations that vastly improve scanning of the traditional 1D consumer barcodes most commonly used in retail stores, including scanning at greater angles and fetching faster, more accurate responses from challenging, distorted or damaged barcodes compared with competing technologies. By utilizing SDK, SPARC now allows supplier representatives, who use a common Smartphone camera to more efficiently check inventory levels hand in hand with Digimarc's 1D barcode scanner, and benefit from the capability to detect invisible barcodes on product packages.

Digimarc Barcodes carry the same GTIN product data as in traditional UPC/EAN consumer barcodes. As they are invisible to consumers, they can be replicated across the entire surface of a package – all without noticeably altering the design aesthetics. Digimarc Barcodes make every part of the package readable, eliminating the time-intensive need to remove products from the shelf and carefully align the camera on traditional barcodes, which are frequently printed on the back or bottom of boxes.

"We believe the integration of Digimarc Barcode detection helps future-proof the SPARC app for increasing and widespread use of Digimarc Barcodes. SPARC users will enjoy the best barcode scanner available now, and they will quickly realize the additional value that Digimarc Barcodes provide when users experience the speed and efficiency compared with traditional barcodes," comments Sean Calhoon, Vice President, Digimarc.